To all of our backers, sharers and followers, and to beer and space lovers everywhere we can’t thank you enough for supporting our project.
But this is not the end!!
What did we achieve?
The biggest impact on not achieving our funding goal is the science; we wanted to get 50 people in 0-g conditions, to get a good range of alcohol effect data. i.e. what is two standard drinks in space? We'll have to wait for that.
People love the Space Beer bottle and we were really stoked to get such a good range of global press. Feedback was genuinely positive on the concept, however we learnt that people wanted a better price. We learnt that selling the Space Beer bottle via a crowdsourcing platform and adding in a biomedical research program added a fair bit of cost overhead. As we move forward we aim to scale back those efforts and revisit the science later.
In summary the plan is to go back to native growth, try for at a better price per bottle, and re-engage commercialisation at a later date.
So what happens now? I don’t get any Space Beer?!
As we committed to an all-or-nothing crowdfunding campaign, our funding won't be realised and all our backers will be refunded by Indiegogo within 5-7 business days.
In the meantime, we’ll keep working away on the project and when we’ve made Space Beer a true reality (i.e. have it in our hands ready for the first commercial space flights), you - our VIP backers, and supporters will be given one of the first opportunities to get Space Beer in your hands!
This project up until this date has been funded itself by sales of the ‘Earth’ version of the beer, so while the campaign didn’t reach the funding goal we’ll be able to continue – just at a slower rate.
Since 4-Pines is expanding to the US and UK this will allow us to accelerate a bit but not at the pace and scale we were hoping for from the campaign.
What are the next steps for Vostok?
Our next 0-g flight finishes the bottle R&D and that's already paid for and is definitely going ahead.
Next flight is for a 0-g flight test for the two mouthpieces. That will happen with ZERO-G early next year depending on flight schedules – and this step we have already paid for. We'll test to ensure there is no spillage for either design and to make sure the anti-spill mechanism also can maintain a proper flow of beer.
How can you stay involved and updated?
Join us on social media to keep on top of the project as we progress. We’ll be sure to keep you updated!
Thanks again for all your support, we couldn’t do it without all the love from you all!
Vostok
